Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:SWBI) Short Interest Update

Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:SWBI) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,200,000 shares, an increase of 33.3% from the November 30th total of 1,650,000 shares. Approximately 5.1% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 589,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.7 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on SWBI shares. Craig Hallum downgraded Smith & Wesson Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $18.00 to $13.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Lake Street Capital lowered shares of Smith & Wesson Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $18.00 to $13.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Smith & Wesson Brands

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in shares of Smith & Wesson Brands by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 79,360 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,138,000 after acquiring an additional 655 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Smith & Wesson Brands by 1.8% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 80,650 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,157,000 after acquiring an additional 1,421 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Smith & Wesson Brands by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 29,249 shares of the company’s stock valued at $378,000 after purchasing an additional 1,598 shares in the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Smith & Wesson Brands by 14.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 16,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $233,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP increased its position in shares of Smith & Wesson Brands by 2,773.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,126 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 2,052 shares in the last quarter. 59.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Smith & Wesson Brands Stock Performance

NASDAQ SWBI traded down $0.09 during trading on Friday, hitting $9.94. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 428,260 shares, compared to its average volume of 453,017. Smith & Wesson Brands has a 52 week low of $9.78 and a 52 week high of $18.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 3.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market cap of $437.39 million, a P/E ratio of 12.74 and a beta of 0.96. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $12.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $13.70.

Smith & Wesson Brands (NASDAQ:SWBI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.17 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $129.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $133.53 million. Smith & Wesson Brands had a net margin of 7.00% and a return on equity of 8.78%. Smith & Wesson Brands’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.14 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Smith & Wesson Brands will post 0.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Smith & Wesson Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, December 19th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 19th. Smith & Wesson Brands’s payout ratio is presently 66.67%.

About Smith & Wesson Brands

Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc designs, manufactures, and sells firearms worldwide. The company offers handguns, including revolvers and pistols; long guns, such as modern sporting rifles, bolt action rifles; handcuffs; suppressors; and other firearm-related products under the Smith & Wesson, M&P, and Gemtech brands.